Tommy Tuberville’s anti-Muslim attacks land senator on civil rights group’s extremist list

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville accelerated attacks on Muslim Americans over the weekend, calling for the forced deportation of those of the Islamic faith.

The Alabama Republican’s remarks followed attacks on a school for Muslim children and Somali immigrants in Minnesota, accompanied by the filing of two bills targeting Muslims. The moves drew condemnation and led to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a civil rights group that advocates on behalf of people of the Islamic faith, placing him on a list of anti-Muslim extremists.

“Unfortunately, Sen. Tuberville has really gone full blast with his attacks on Muslims,” said Corey Saylor, research and advocacy director for CAIR, in an interview on Monday regarding the list. “Whether that is introducing two bills in Congress to essentially ban our faith in the United States or saying that we are not even a religion. So, that level of assault on an American faith deserves getting designated as what it is, and that is an Islamophobe.”

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tuberville said he considers it “a badge of honor” to be labeled as an extremist by the organization.

Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor for a likely run against Tuberville for the office next year, condemned the senator’s remarks in an interview on Monday.

“It is really a sad state of affairs when you have a U.S. senator who is so bigoted with religious bigotry as Sen. Tuberville is,” he said. “We need to be a state for all people, and a welcoming state, and make sure everyone in the state is treated with the same dignity and respect.”

Tuberville introduced the “No Sharia Act” in October that prohibits courts from enforcing the foreign law in the country. It also renders any contract null and void and prohibits family law from enforcing foreign law in family law.

Sharia law consists of Islamic principles that are derived from the Quran, traditions of Islam’s prophet Mohammad, and the statements of Islamic scholars throughout history. There are varying interpretations and applications of sharia in majority-Muslim countries.

Tuberville also filed a companion bill, “Preserving a Sharia Free America Act,” that authorizes the secretary of state and other agencies to deny immigration benefits to people who advocate for Sharia Law or have them deported. It also allows federal agencies to withhold immigration benefits and have people deported if they fail to disclose to federal agency officials that support sharia law.

Tuberville in June said Muslim immigrants would “overwhelm us” and that we have to fight back.”

In recent days, Tuberville accelerated his assaults. On Sunday, Tuberville’s Facebook account posted a statement that said Islam is “not a religion. It’s a cult.” and claimed that “Islamists aren’t here to assimilate. They’re here to conquer.”

“Stop worrying about offending the pearl clutchers,” the statement said. “We’ve got to SEND THEM HOME NOW or we’ll become the United Caliphate of America.”

The actions of the Council on American-Islamic Relations came on the heels of another post from on X, formerly Twitter, that mass migration of “Islamic extremists destroyed Europe” that reinforced a 15-minute speech he gave on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Thursday when he said that the country will soon be known as the “Caliphate of America.”

“They turned a blind eye like we are at the moment and are going to have to fight in the streets to get their countries back,” Tuberville said of Europe about Muslim immigrants. “It’s coming. And that is exactly what’s going to happen in this country in a few short years if we don’t act now to save our country and our way of life.”

Tuberville made multiple remarks disparaging immigrants, making claims that immigrants from Somalia living in Minnesota are stealing from taxpayers and sending the money to terrorists in that country. Tuberville provided no evidence for his comments. Most people of Somali descent are citizens, and Republicans including President Donald Trump have made wildly inaccurate claims about the Somali-American community in Minnesota.

He also referred to the Islamic Academy of Alabama, which withdrew a proposal relocate to Hoover amid criticism and threats.

“I was asked about it,” Tuberville said during his comments on Thursday. “And I said the only place this Islamic academy should be moving is out of Alabama and out of our country.”

A spokesperson for the school declined to comment on Tuberville’s statement, referring instead to a news release published after the Hoover planning and zoning committee denied the school’s proposal to move its site from Homewood.

“Not one word of these allegations reflects the teachings, values, curriculum or culture of our school,” Stacy Abdein, the school’s assistant principal said in the news release. “They are irresponsible fabrications that fuel fear, prejudice and division.”

Jones defended the school on Monday.

“These are not indoctrination academies,” he said. “These are schools that teach children how to read, how to write, to do math, to do all the things, but they also teach them their religion.”